Crypto Market Losses for November Stood at $71 Million, Second-Lowest Level of Mounthly Losses

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As a seasoned researcher with years of experience tracking cybersecurity incidents in the crypto space, I find the recent data from Immunefi both intriguing and concerning. It’s heartening to see that monthly losses have decreased significantly compared to last year, but the fact remains that we’re still dealing with billions of dollars in losses due to hacks and rug pulls.

In November, the cryptocurrency market suffered losses of approximately $71 million, which is the second-smallest monthly loss recorded to date. As reported by blockchain security firm Immunefi, this represents a significant improvement compared to November 2023, where the losses were a massive $343 million.

According to data from Immunefi, losses have decreased by 79% compared to the same period last year and an additional 4% when comparing months. Interestingly, these drops occur during periods of increased cryptocurrency market activity, which typically see a surge in losses. Therefore, this downward trend is encouraging since November 2024 was one of the busiest months for crypto trading compared to the previous year.

2024 statistics show that, as of now, the industry has experienced a net loss of approximately $1.48 billion this year, resulting from 209 hacking incidents and rug pulls. This represents a 15% drop compared to the $1.7 billion lost during the same timeframe in 2023.

Based on the data from Immunefi, two significant incidents stood out as the primary contributors to the staggering $71 million in losses we witnessed throughout November. Specifically, the DeFi project Thala Labs was responsible for a loss of approximately $25.5 million, while DEXX, the meme coin trading terminal, experienced a loss of around $21 million. Remarkably, it’s worth noting that all the losses this month were directly associated with DeFi protocols.

In summary, hacks remained the major contributor to losses amounting to approximately $70.99 million in 24 separate instances. Smaller losses were due to rug pulls, which occurred in two cases and resulted in a loss of $25,300. Interestingly, BNB Chain, supported by Binance, emerged as the most targeted blockchain, accounting for almost half (nearly 47%) of all losses across various networks, according to Immunefi’s report.

9 instances occurred on Ethereum, which accounts for approximately 30% of all incidents. Meanwhile, Solana, Polygon, Fantom, Avalanche, Arbitrum, and Aptos each had a single instance, making up about 3.3% of the total for each respective network.

Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) Alone Contribute 50% of Crypto Market Losses

As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed that centralized exchanges (CEXs) have been a recurring target for hackers this year. According to data from Immunefi, CEXs are accountable for half of the total crypto market losses in 2024, amounting to a staggering $721 million. This makes 2024 the year with the highest number of attacks on CEXs since 2021. It’s crucial for us as investors to stay vigilant and informed about these trends.

During the third quarter of 2024, I observed a significant rise in the vulnerability of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, with a staggering 72% of total crypto losses being attributed to CeFi hacks. A prime example is the hack on the Indian exchange WazirX in July, which resulted in a substantial loss of approximately $235 million.

It’s been observed by Immunefi that many issues with centralized finance (CeFi) stem from breached hot wallets, enabling attackers to empty substantial resources. In the year 2024 alone, centralized exchange (CEX) platforms suffered losses totaling $724 million over nine separate incidents, whereas decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms experienced comparable losses across approximately 200 attacks. Additionally, Immunefi highlighted that malicious hackers have been using more sophisticated tactics to infiltrate centralized systems.

As an analyst, I uncover strategies that involve creating false job opportunities and assuming the identity of recruiters, with the aim of infiltrating internal teams and executive infrastructure under a cloak of deception.

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2024-11-29 18:12